Kimberly Sheehan will be taking the helm as Santa Ynez Valley Union High School’s new principal/superintendent starting July 1 after the school board unanimously approved her contract during its April 16 meeting.
“I’m just really excited to join an already established team, an already very well-run school district,” Sheehan told the Sun. “I know for a while my mission is to just listen and learn while I lead, … just hearing from everybody that’s there, what’s currently working, what they’d like to see changed, and keeping it very student-focused and student-centered.”
The board’s approval of Sheehan’s contract closes the district’s year-long search for a new principal at Santa Ynez Valley Union High School. Former principal Michael Niehoff resigned in 2023 after one year in the position due to community pushback on his decisions related to LGBTQ-plus representation at the school. The high school had two interim principals this school year and lost its former superintendent, Andrew Schwab, who left in March after receiving a role at a Central Valley school district.
“Parents aren’t always going to be happy with decisions, … but I can assure everybody that it’s going to be very student-centered decisions,” Sheehan said. “I want to make sure that I give to students everything and every opportunity that I received because schools changed the trajectory of my life. I am where I am because of the foundation I received from the public schools I attended.”
School board President Chris Johnson said during the meeting that Sheehan signed a three-year contract, earning $227,000 annually, with a 220-day work year. She will not receive paid vacation and holidays, but will receive all health and insurance benefits provided to the district certificated staff.
She will also get a $150 per month life insurance policy, $50 per month cellphone expense reimbursement, and a $250 per month transportation allowance for district travel within Santa Barbara County, he said. She will also have access to a budget up to $10,000 to hire a coach or mentor with board approval.
Acting Superintendent Elysia Lewis told the Sun that Sheehan is currently the director of operations for Accelerated Schools, a Los Angeles Unified School District independent charter school. Sheehan’s also had experience as a principal, assistant principal, teacher, a head guidance counselor, coach, director of technology, and director of career technical education.
“She’s worked in both public schools and charter school districts so she understands both sides of education,” Lewis said.
The April 16 board meeting felt like a “more positive meeting” than the district’s had in the past couple of years, she said.
“I know the district staff is feeling relieved. … Everyone’s first impression is positive; she seems like a very humble, positive, and kind person,” Lewis said.
Acting Superintendent Lewis said that the district decided to push the two roles of superintendent and principal into one position because of the district’s small size, future budget deficit constraints, and to avoid hierarchical issues.
“The principal and superintendent are on the same property; it makes it difficult because people would circumvent the principal and go to the superintendent,” Lewis said. “If we have one person who is the final decision-maker, we avoid going over the person’s head, and we can supplement the workload with an additional vice principal.”
This article appears in Apr 25 – May 5, 2024.
